Chapter 196 How strong is Alice’s painting skills?
But Queen Miwe quickly adjusted her mood. She looked at the several snake sect demon hunters who were collecting the monster's corpse, and then looked at Lan's lion eyes.
"I suddenly admire your foresight. Are the people behind you all demon hunters?" Queen Miwe said, "Their skills are amazing. Now I really hope there are a few demon hunters in my territory." Already."
Lann smiled slightly and said nothing. He waved his hand and inserted the golden rune sword back into the scabbard behind his back.
After confirming Lann's identity, Queen Miwe's knights also confirmed that the magical sword in his hand was what countless knights dreamed of. Their eyes were almost always glued to Lan's Sword of the Lake Lady, until the golden light of runes on the surface of the sword was completely covered by the scabbard.
Reinforcements from the fortress rolled in, but stopped awkwardly in front of everyone. There was no need for support here.
Lann looked back and saw that his warriors had almost finished cleaning the battlefield, and stretched out his hand to make a "please" gesture to Queen Miwe.
"Your Majesty must be frightened. Why don't you go back to the fortress and take a rest first?"
Queen Meve also smiled slightly: "Let's go together, Lannister."
The embarrassed United Kingdom army, the fully loaded Cintra army, and the horse that slipped around The reinforcements left the battlefield in an orderly manner and entered the fortress not far away, kicking up billows of dust.
The body of the fork-tailed dragon was taken away, but the ghouls were left behind.
The scattered limbs squeezed blood and seeped into the soil, and the wind blew up a disgusting fishy smell.
Theoretically, this kind of scene is the most attractive to ghouls, but unfortunately, the one lying here this time is a ghoul.
After a while, crows began to fill the sky.
There was a sudden sway of trees in the jungle on both sides of the road, and pairs of eyes observed the noise on the mainland in the woods, and then disappeared.
The owner of these eyes didn't know how long he had been here, but he had never been discovered. It was only when he decided to leave that there was some movement.
Among this group of people, the leader was a guy wearing a black cloak and brown leather armor.
His face was painted with colorful oil paint and his true appearance could not be seen, but his pointed ears revealed his identity -
an elf.
They walked through the jungle for a long time and soon came to a small camp. In order to hide themselves, the people in the camp did not light a fire, but the atmosphere between the tents had a depressing boiling.
The human race here is even richer. In addition to elves, there are also dwarves, halflings and gnomes. The total number of people here exceeds a hundred.
Only no humans.
And if you want to find one thing in common among so many races - it is that they all wear squirrel fur decorations on their bodies.
Seeing the elf as the leader return, several elves immediately gathered around eagerly, chirping and asking if the plan was going well.
The elf shook his head, not knowing what he said, but a few words were vaguely brought out from the flow of the wind.
"Failure... Meve... Henselt... The Witcher!"
...
There used to be a proverb in the north: "Whoever controls the Pontal Valley can control the entire north."
From this sentence, A glimpse into the strategic position of the Pontal Valley.
The Haji Fortress is the only war fortress in the Pontar Valley and the largest military fortress in the entire Northern Kingdom.
In the long history, Redania, Temeria, Aedirn, and Kaedwen all once had control over it, and they all lost their right to own it one after another.
Until it became the deserted land it is today.
In such a deserted land, the furnishings inside would naturally not be very comfortable. But for the demon hunters, such an environment is already a rare comfort.
A hall in the fortress was turned into a living room for marching, with a bed, a desk, and a dining table scribbled out.
Lan was sitting on the desk writing something. The snake witchers were drinking and chatting around the table, while the attendants and soldiers were standing guard outside.
The fire inside the fireplace burns warmly.
In addition to these people, there was a looming and slender figure in the room. She is sitting in front of a drawing board, applying colors and outlining lines.
She has a slim and graceful figure, wearing a dark Gothic-style dress that looks as plain as a mourning dress. Her black veil is lifted and draped behind her head, almost blending in with her ebony hair.
Alice, she is painting.
The empty and warm room, the earl concentrating on his work, the demon hunter resting, and the soul painting with a smile. No matter how you look at it, these elements that seem unharmonious have reached a delicate balance at this moment.
It's even a bit comfortable for people to be in it.
Spread out in front of Lann was the [Gryphon School Contact Note], and it was time for him to contact his mentor for the first time in a long time.
"Dear teacher, the words are as clear as the face:
I have arrived at the Haji Fortress and will soon hold talks in the north to determine the fate of Sintra. This is a crucial step. Those who trust me, those who are loyal to me, and those who follow me, they All the expectations are on me. I have a mission, and I am often out of breath."
[Translation]: What a responsible and righteous disciple. Do other disciples have such ability and awareness at this age? The Lion Knight of Sintra, who always shines brightly and is full of confidence in the eyes of outsiders, has moments of confusion and anxiety inside, and he only appears in front of his teacher for help. So, teacher, do you really not want to come over and help your proud disciple?
"I was pleasantly surprised to meet a tortured feline witcher, Kyaan, in Novigrad. I rescued him from the warlock's lab and helped restore his sanity and health. He now joins My order of witchers is stationed in Novigrad to help me collect information, and at the same time fulfill the original duties of a witcher, hoping to save some reputation for my fellow cat sects..." [Translation]: This cat sect
hunter Did the experience of Majin feel very similar to you, teacher? Did you empathize with him and want to go out to meet him? Moreover, the way the Cat School saves the school is to join the world. Do you want to learn from it too?
"At the same time, I also met four demon hunters of the Snake School, one of whom I had rescued in the White Orchard. I learned that the Snake School had long been destroyed by Nilfgaard. After learning that Cintra After the situation, they happily joined my Demon Hunter Order plan and worked together to make the Demon Hunter great again..." [Translation]: The
same school was destroyed. Teacher, look at other people’s consciousness.
" Along the way, I found that the number of monsters was greater and more frequent than before. This has also been verified by other northerners. Perhaps something has changed in the outside world. This is the time when demon hunters are needed most. …”
[Translation]: Teacher, come out quickly.
"I hunted two fork-tailed dragons on the way. The decoction made from their mutagenic substances is of great benefit to the Griffin School. After this meeting is over, I need to go to Kael Siren to get your guidance. .At the same time, I also hope that with your help, my troops can return to Sintra as soon as possible..."
After adding a series of sincere greetings, he signed the signature.
Lan exhaled a long breath and stretched his somewhat stiff neck.
"Lan, I see you've been sitting there for a long time, how about we have a drink together?"
Kolgrim shouted at Lann at the dining table.
Lann went over and took the wine glass: "I'm writing a letter."
"Letter?" Seret was surprised, "Do you nobles write your letters directly on the book?"
Lann chuckled and shook his head, shaking it in front of them. He shook his contact note and put it back into the [Inventory] with a flip of his hand.
"This is the unique communication skill of the Gryphon School, a kind of magic prop. The content I wrote in this book can be completely presented in another book thousands of miles away." For his
colleagues from the Snake School, Lan But he didn't hide this matter like he did to Yada.
After hearing this, Leisuo once again exclaimed in an expressionless tone: "Is it really the Gryphon School..."
After being together with Lann, they had to accept a little gryphon shock from time to time.
"What about you? What were you talking about just now?" Lann drank all the wine in the glass.
Just now, he was focused on how to express his "missing" for Jaylon in the letter, and did not pay much attention to the chatter of the witcher.
"About those soldiers of Kaedwen." Oakes shook his head, looking very unhappy.
Demon hunters have sharp senses, and Serpents, as assassins, are particularly sensitive to other people's eyes.
From the moment they entered the Pontar Valley, the Kaedwen soldiers looked at them with very strong hostility and contempt; after their group rescued Queen Meve and the Kaedwen people arrived belatedly , this hostility is even worse.
Along the way, Lann had heard countless people say bad things about Kaedwin and their king, Henselt. Now that King Henselt has not been seen, the rumors about Kaedwen can only be justified.
Kaedwen is the most extensive country in the North and the second largest country in the entire continent after Nilfgaard.
However, such a vast territory has not produced a sufficiently civilized country. Kaedwen has a cold and unforgiving climate, with a large number of vast primeval forests scattered throughout the territory. Kaedwen people are also known for their savagery and vulgarity.
The king of this country, Henselt, was famous for being extremely greedy and irritable, and he was also famous for hating inhuman races. He invested a lot of money and manpower in forming a guerrilla force to encircle and suppress non-human races, and was the number one person who caused racial conflicts in the mainland.
Many rumors have said that the "Squirrel Party" that is killing humans today was secretly funded and established by the Emperor of Nilfgaard. This statement is not unfounded; but even if it is true, the Scoia'tael can be assembled so quickly. A group of killers who hated humans to the core, and King Henselt also played an important role.
The Emperor of Nilfgaard was able to invade the North so easily thanks to the various weird kings in the North.
"In the past few days, soldiers from Kaedwen have come to provoke us from time to time." Kolgrim said gloomily. "To be honest, if we hadn't considered that we are also worried about causing conflicts on behalf of one political force, I would have taught you a lesson long ago. Those stinky guys."
Lan En was happy: "I also want to thank you for taking me into consideration?"
Kolgrim nodded matter-of-factly: "You're welcome."
Oaks punched Kolgrim on the shoulder in annoyance: "When have we not run away from the official army before? Even without Lan, you can't fart!" "
Who said that?!" Kolgrim suddenly stiffened his neck.
He rolled his eyes, and suddenly pointed at the bald man who had been silently beside him and said, "Ask Leiso to lend me his 'poisonous silver sword', and I will dare to let those Kaedwen soldiers have a taste of their power." !"
Leisuo, who was drinking silently, was stunned and shook his head helplessly.
As the contemporary leader of the Serpent Faction, he is the most calm and calm, but like all demon hunters, he does not put on any airs. Many times, Kolgrim and the others regard Letho as their elder brother, the kind of brother who "is like a father." .
He had been acting as a listener during the drinking discussion just now, but unexpectedly, Kolgrim suddenly pulled him out as a shield.
The [Snake Sect Venomous Silver Sword] that he had just acquired shortly behind his back was gleaming, and Leisuo, who regarded it as a treasure, could not lend it to Kolgrim casually.
Lann smiled and took the initiative to change the subject and ask Lei Suo: "How does this sword feel?"
A trace of intoxication and enjoyment flashed on Lei Suo's face: "It's great. I really don't know where you came from. Where did I get it back? But I want to thank you again, Lann."
Along the way, Leisuo has participated in many battles with this sword, especially the time he fought against the fork-tailed dragon at the gate of the fortress. [Snake Sect Venomous Silver Sword] Cutting through the scales and spine of dragon-like creatures is no more difficult than cutting over a water ghost. This made Letho feel even more grateful to Lan.
"This sword is the best quality sword I have ever seen. Even the gryphon silver sword my mentor gave me is not as good as him."
Of course, in addition to the [Sword of the Lake Lady] and [Ellie] that Lan is currently carrying on his back, Silk].
Lann said in a joking tone: "I even doubt whether this sword is the sword of Ivar Evil Eye, the leader of your school." This sentence was originally just
said by Lann, but then the snake sect demon hunter The reaction was beyond his expectation.
Whether it was Letho, Kolgrim, Oakes or Seret, they all began to shake their heads seriously.
"No, I have seen Master Iva's sword, and it is completely different from this sword. Maybe this is the sword of a senior who died outside." In the eyes of everyone in the Snake Sect, this sentence is ordinary
. . But Lann heard something different.
"Wait a minute, Leisuo, have you ever met 'Iva Evil Eye', the founder of your school?"
Leisuo nodded as expected: "Yes."
Then he saw Lan's surprised expression. , I figured it out after thinking about it.
"You have only seen the four of us Snake Sect so far, which may have caused you some misunderstanding. But in fact, Master Ivar is still alive, and it was only because of him that we were able to survive when Nilfgaard destroyed the Snake Sect. There should be five more people in the Snake Sect."
"Are you sure? That was the Grand Master who was active during the Demon Hunter Order. If he were still alive, how old would he be now?" Lann said in disbelief, "He is still alive now. Are you in Nilfgaard? Why didn't you come to the north with you?"
Facing Lan's question, Leisuo shook his head: "Although Master Ivar is still alive, he embarked on a journey alone not long ago. He His evil eye seemed to see something that forced him to move towards his goal. That is why he passed on the position of mentor to me and asked me to lead everyone to seek the path to the revival of the school." Kolgrim also helped: "
Then It was still after I arrived in the North. When Lan and you met, I even planned to write a letter and send it back to Master Ivar. Only after I met Leisuo and the others did I know that Master Ivar had left and asked I have regretted it for a long time."
The words of the Snake Faction made Lan fall into deep thought.
He admitted that he was greedy.
Ivar Evil Eye. A super mutant who has endured more witcher mutations than ordinary witchers because of his body's outstanding drug resistance, a sect founder who has existed since the time of the witcher order, how many such a person would have powerful?
And judging from the respectful tone and retelling of Leisuo and others, Ivar Evil Eye is definitely still in his prime.
Unfortunately, it was too late to win over him. Ivar didn't know what he saw with his evil eye, and he actually left his struggling school and walked away.
That is to say, Leisuo was really powerful, and the Snake Faction also had a rare cohesion, which prevented the Snake Faction from disintegrating.
And judging from the tone of Leisuo and others, they even understood Ivar Evil Eye's approach and did not feel abandoned by the other party.
"Did Grandmaster Iva tell you where he was going and what he was going to do?"
"No." Lei Suo shook his head, "But we believe he has a reason to do this." "
Then do you want to find him? ?"
Lei Suo was silent this time, and after a long time he sighed: "I think."
Obviously, he didn't have any complaints about the Grandmaster's departure, but those trivial thoughts were always suppressed by trust in his heart.
Lann could only say: "After we return to Cintra, I will strengthen the propaganda of the Demon Hunter Order, especially the news that 'the Snake Sect is also in the Order', if Grandmaster Ivar sees it I will definitely come to find you."
Lei Suo nodded.
The two of them clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
Kolgrim suddenly thought of something: "Lan, where is the founder of your Griffin School? I heard Master Ivar say that he seems to be called 'Elan of Larvik'?" Lann thought for a while and
said : "I have only been a demon hunter for two years, and I have never met Grandmaster Elam. Kaer Siren was once destroyed by an avalanche created by the warlocks. Grandmaster Elam mistakenly believed that the entire school was wiped out, so he was disheartened. He left and has not been heard from since."
"My mentor Jielong was imprisoned by his warlock father for experiments when he was out to receive a commission, so he escaped. I rescued him by accident. , and then became a demon hunter under the wonderful arrangement of fate."
Lann briefly introduced the current situation of the Griffin School.
From the perspective of Leisuo and others who did not know the specific situation, the Griffin School seemed to be in a worse situation than the Snake School.
"It's a pity, Master Ivar has great praise for Grandmaster Elan, and every time he mentions him, he is always fascinated." Lei Suo sighed, "I have always wanted to see with my own eyes the griffin knight that Master Ivar talked about. "
The few demon hunters looked at each other in silence, clinking glasses and drinking.
After one round, Kolgrim suddenly thought of something.
"Lan, do you think your Elan Grandmaster is still alive?"
Lann was silent and shook his head: "No one can tell, maybe. Wait until I announce the revival of the gryphon in Sintra After the news, maybe he will come back."
The topic was too heavy, and several demon hunters once again looked at each other in silence and clinked glasses.
But this atmosphere did not last long.
A cheer soon broke in, dispelling the wine and silence.
"It's done, my painting!"
Alice stood up from the chair happily, but seemed to quickly realize how rude her behavior was, and immediately covered her mouth with one hand, looking apologetically at the witchers at the table.
This expression on the gothic young woman's face, which is full of melancholy and brokenness, really has a different kind of contrasting charm.
In fact, Alice is happy. She has been confused and depressed for who knows how many years, and has not experienced emotions other than "sadness" and "pain" for who knows how many years.
Lann walked towards her with a smile and looked at the painting on the easel.
Above are two leaders facing each other.
One is a mighty knight with blond hair and lion eyes. He looks as young as the rising sun, but also has the majesty of a mountain. At this time, he was inserting a gleaming rune sword back into its scabbard, and at the same time, he was talking to the person opposite.
Just from the canvas, you can feel the charm of this knight. Anyone who looks at this painting will be immediately caught by this knight.
Opposite him was a lady wearing gold-encrusted armor and a crown. Her face was calm, but there was a trace of unnoticeable embarrassment.
Behind them were the knights, the forest, and the corpses of two huge fork-tailed dragons. There are some other monsters scattered around.
"You said you wanted me to draw a painting as a gift to the Queen, and I immediately thought of this scene." Alice said softly.
Yes, Alice was there. And right next to Lan.
Although Alice is a [demon spirit in the painting], her [Tsubaki] talent gives her a lot of possibilities. In addition to her own portrait, she can actually possess Lann's [Alice] scimitar.
Alice possessed [Alice], which makes sense.
After all, she can't always possess portraits that are inconvenient to carry. Unlike the [Transformation Device Sealing Technique], the paintings she possesses cannot be stored in the [Inventory].
It was also because of this that Alice, who was possessed by the scimitar, saw the scene of Lan showing off his power to rescue the Queen, and re-created the scene adding some of her own subjective emotions.
By the way, if Lan is going to kill someone with a machete, he must tell Alice in advance to let her release the possession. This lady is not yet able to adapt to negative distance contact killing.
Lann cannot be said to know much about art, but under the education of the old housekeeper and the influence of Queen Calanthe during the earl period, he had some appreciation ability.
He sincerely praised: "A very wonderful work."
Alice lowered her head: "I don't know if my painting is qualified as a gift for this kind of diplomatic occasion. I'm afraid it will lose Cintra's identity."
Lann kept saying Comfort: "Please don't say that. Your artistic attainments are far beyond your imagination."
As for Alice's painting skills, there is actually a hidden easter egg in the original game as an explanation.
If the player personally fulfills one of Olgierd's three wishes [Open Sesame], they will go to the ongoing auction of the Bosodi Brothers on the way to find the House of Bosodi.
When the game company set up the auction items, they paid tribute to many artworks from Lann's previous life in the real world. Among them was a painting called "Starry Sky over the Pontar River", and the author's name was "Van Lu" .
This painting's name, brushstrokes, color techniques, and even the artist's name all pay tribute to a famous work - Van Gogh's "Starry Night on the Rhone".
This Van Lu is actually a pseudonym, and his true identity is Alice.
In other words - Alice's painting skills are at the level of Van Gogh.
It's just that Alice herself never knew that she had always taken painting as a hobby and never sold one before her death.
Lan En was becoming more and more satisfied with this painting at this moment.
Alice looked at Lann and became more and more satisfied. What could make her happier than praising an artist's paintings?
"If the surface is allowed to dry, it will take about one to two days, and if the entire painting is completely dry, it will take about a month."
Lann frowned slightly when he heard this, and said helplessly: "Such a beautiful painting is indeed worth it. Wait. It's just that Queen Miwe can't see her for the time being."
Alice chuckled lightly: "If it were an ordinary painting, I would prefer to wait for it to dry naturally. But since it is a work with a political mission, Maybe doing this will make it more story..."
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw a bright emerald flame suddenly ignited on Alice's body, and the flame soon filled the painting and passed by.
The flames quickly died out.
Seeing Alice smiling and making a "please" gesture, Lan tried to touch the canvas lightly with his fingertips.
Dry.
"You can always surprise people, Ms. Alice."
The beautiful soul made a lady's bow: "Far from the surprises you gave me, Knight Lann."
Behind Lann, Kolgrim took a sip of wine, He asked Leisuo, "What are they doing?"
Leisuo didn't look back: "Just watch."
For a long time, Levin, who had been standing guard outside the door, suddenly heard a call to him from inside the door. .
"Levin!"
"Here! Sir!"
Levin knocked twice and pushed the door open, waiting for orders.
"Go and send a greeting to Queen Meewe. I'm going to visit her during dinner."
This kind of thing should have been left to House, but House was now thrown into the "temporary butler team" of Haji Fortress by Lan. "Well, after all, he was the only one he brought with him who had relevant experience.
Therefore, this kind of temporary diplomatic affairs can only be left to Levin for the time being. It just so happens that Lann also plans to train the young people in the small town to become independent talents in the future. This is a real training opportunity for young people.
"Yes! Sir!" Levin responded forcefully, pushed back Milva who was looking into the room, turned around and left.
(End of chapter)